Chaeles e



llNirn` STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES E. DURYEA, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

GAM E-BOARD.

SECIFCATION forming part; of Letters Patent No. 384,195, dated June 5,1888.

(No model.)

T0 all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, CHARLEs E. DURYEA, of Vashington, in the District ofColumbia, have invented certain new and useful ImprovementsinGame-Boards, of which the following is a full description, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, in Which- Figure l is a diagramof a hexagonal board. Fig. 2 illustrates a sixth part of a larger heX-agonal board, having a slightly different method of coloring; and Fig. 3is a diagram of one of the eight triangles necessary to form anoctagonal board.

The board consists of six equilateral triangles s0 placed as to form aregular hexagon, in which each triangle is subdivided into twenty-fivesmaller triangles. These smaller triangles are colored in two colors,preferably white and black, those being black whose sides arerespectively parallel to the corresponding sides 0i" the large trianglescontaining them. This rule for coloring gives more dark triangles thanlight ones, and causes the outer row of dark ones to lie with theirbases against the boundary-lines of the large triangles, and thereforeagainst a corresponding row of small dark triangles in the next largetriangle. This arranging of some of the dark triangles together makesthe game far more varied than it would otherwise be, in that it ispossible to proceed by jumping over the same piece two or more times.

The manner of using the board is as follows: Each player takes a Statednumbcrof pieces of a distinctive color or shape, which are placed upon adetermined field near the margin of the board, using the dark trianglesonly. The object is to move the pieces to a like Iield at the oppositeside of the board, and the player soonest completing'the task is winner. Moves must always be parallel to the sides of the board, or, inother words, the triangle to which the piece is moved must lie betweenthe same two dividing-lines asthe triangle upon which it last stood.There are two kinds of moves, viz., direct and jump. A direct move isfrom one dark triangle to the next, ending there. A jump move is aseries of jumps from one dark triangle over a piece in the next to thenext but one, and so on in the same or a different direction as far aspossible or desirable. The total number of pieces used should be fromone-third to one-half the whole number of dark triangles. A greater orless number offers fewer chances to j ump, and this renders the gameless lively. The game may be somewhat varied by using a different fieldor by not allowing players to jump their own pieces. The game is quitelively, owing to the fact that the use of triangular checkers instead ofsquare ones permits the pieces to be moved in any one of six directions.The pieces used by each player must be of such color or shape or both asto be easily distinguished from those of theother players.

The board may be made in a number of ways, provided the dark triangleswhich come together are somade as to be easily distinguished. This maybe done by means of double dividing-lines, as shown in Fig. 1; byshading the dark triangles7 as shown in Fig. 2, or by using a thirdcolor for the dividing-lines.

Any number of players may use the board.

If desired for use on shipboard or elsewhere, the triangle usuallydarkened may or may not be colored, but may be provided with holes orpockets into which the pieces may rest. I do not, however, claim such amodiiicationas this as an invention, nordo I wish to limit myself tosuch a specific form. The board may be of the shape of any regular planefigure. In Fior. 3 is shown one-eighth of au octagonal board. Thehexagonal form is preferred, however, because the triangles areequilateral and the dividingllines unbroken. A board having the numberof small triangles shown in Fig. 1 is a very'satisfactory size, butboards having a greater or less number of small triangles may be used.It is usually preferred to use the colored triangles to play upon, butcolors last longer if the unused triangles are colored. In Fig. 2 isshown an equilateral triangle, divided into thirty-six small triangles.Vhere a large number of players usually use the board this size is verygood. If fewer persons wish to use the same board and prefer it smaller,they can attain the result by choosing upon fields located one or tworows in from the margin. A diamond-shaped board may be formed by placingtwo of the large triangles together;

ICO

but it is not so satisfactory as a board having the shape of a regularpolygon, preferably the hexagon.

claim- 1. A game-board composed of triangular` sections, eaeh dividedinto similar smaller sections, of which those are colored whose sidesare parallel with the sides of the inelosing section.

2. A ganleAboard having the form of any regular plane figure andcomposed of triangular sections, each divided intosiinilar smallersections, of which those are colored whose sides are parallelwith thesides of the inclosing section.

3. A gameboard composed of triangles, each divided into smallertriangles, of which l those are colored Whose sides are parallel withthe corresponding sides of the inelosing triangle, and which are soplaced that along the lines of junction between the large triangles thesmaller colored triangles Will lie with their bases abutting the basesof similar-colored triangles in the adjoining large triangles.

4. A gameboard having the forni of a regular hexagon and composed of sixeqnilateral triangles, each divided into smaller triangles, of whichthose are colored whose sides are parallel with the corresponding sidesof the inclosing triangle.

CHARLES E. DURYEA.

Witnesses:

WM. HELMICK, C. B. CAYWooD.

